Any time someone says an ultra cheap monitoring device is subscription free I just picture an odd man running a curio shop telling me his wares don’t cost money
The actual hardware cost of these devices is actually minimal. Basically any wifi capable microcontroller, a camera and depending on implementation some storage (or a micro sd-card holder). So that price is only cheap in comparison to existing products.
For reference, said microcontroller with basic camera can be had for like 3$ or something.
Retail pricing dictates a $3 component cost is $12. And that $3 would have to include packaging and assembly costs. And the plastic case and button. £17 is tough to hit with all that, especially if there is an SD card included or any software development to ensure any kind of security.
The 3$ isn’t a component price but also retail already.
From the listing:
Answer your door from anywhere in the world with this remote viewing Video Doorbell.
So I assume you’re not expected to self-host this. Which means they have to run and maintain servers. And $16/person ain’t covering the cost of this device + servers indefinitely.
It’s a rebranded Tuya doorbell. So there aren’t any subscriptions, though you will be giving them all your data.
Which means they have to run and maintain servers.
I’d bet money that it works just like similar devices from Reolink. Local recording to SD Card or NVR. If you want cloud recording then you’re paying a monthly subscription.
This device from Aldi is at a very low pricepoint but it’s specs are garbage. 480p recording? In 2025? C’mon…
Then you wouldn’t be able to “answer your door from anywhere”…
You would if you pay the subscription.
Right, but not if you didn’t. Which would be false advertising.
answer your door from anywhere*
*Monthly subscription required
Look at the listing. There is no such caveat.
any chance this can be done through your router/modem, where your phone app connects to external ip of router and is the “server end point” for your doorbell?
I mean it’s certainly possible, it’s just a matter of whether the doorbell firmware/software will support it. And the answer is almost always no.
DDNS/P2P with local storage?
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It may not require a subscription fee, but that’s really only a minor concern.
Having my video surveillance be uploaded to a cloud service and having to use some proprietary app to use my device is the real problems.
If you want security cameras, look for boring Power over Ethernet cameras that have an RTSP output. They connect to your network and provide a video stream out a specific port. Then you can plug that into whatever FOSS network video recording system you’re using (Zone Minder or Frigate) and then you can access it like you access any other thing on your local network.
Never goes to a cloud, never leaves your house.
If it has local storage then it doesn’t get uploaded anywhere.
It also has BT so the offline mode could be simply “record to SD card and view videos using some app via Bluetooth”.
Online mode with notifications and two-way talking has to require internet access so I definitely wouldn’t trust it, with or without subscription.
It’s a rebranded Tuya device, which can actually be used in a local only mode.
I wouldn’t trust connecting it to the Tuya online services though that is for certain.
You seem to be knowledgeable. What camera can I use to plug in into a light bulb socket and have it use powerline communication? Wi-Fi is fine too, but would prefer PLC.
e: Oh, sorry I misread your question. I haven’t seen a lightbulb socket powerline adapter. There’s no reason why they can’t exist though afaik. e2: Lighbulb socket -> power plug adapter -> insert the rest here
You’d use a few things in a chain. Socket -> Ethernet over Power connection -> Cat6 cable -> Power over Ethernet injector -> Cat6 -> PoE Camera
If you want to hook up multiple cameras to one power plug, go Socket -> Ethernet over Power -> Switch -> PoE power injector on each of your camera lines -> etc
You can also buy switches that do the PoE injection for you so you don’t need multiple injectors. You’d have to compare the prices, but the PoE switch is likely cheaper than a regular switch + multiple PoE injectors.
you can use a light socket to plug adapter and plug it in like normal
“Doorbell with a subscription” is something so utterly stupid, an absolute misdevelopment.
The fuck does it even need a subscription for, anyway? Is it not hosting the videos locally? Fuck that.
Local hosting for a security camera is a rather terrible idea, because it can be defeated by stealing or breaking the camera.
The camera isn’t storing anything.
Oh, I guess the micro sd card slot under the batteries of the doorbell camera is non-functional then, and it saves the videos into your ass, where you pulled that claim from?
Yes. Yes it does store them to the camera.
First of all, I was just speaking generally about security cameras, not specifically a ring, when responding to your comment about local storage being stupid for a security camera.
Secondly not all Ring doorbells use an SD card slot or even have batteries. They can be wired directly to the home and save the data to another external device.
Third and pedantically: An SD card is not the camera. It’s an SD card. 😌
The fuck does it even need a subscription for, anyway? Is it not hosting the videos locally? Fuck that.
“It” being a “Doorbell with a subscription”, from the message you directly replied to. In a thread about a video doorbell from Aldi.
Local hosting for a security camera is a rather terrible idea, because it can be defeated by stealing or breaking the camera.
This is what I replied to with concern for storing security camera data locally. You didnt say this camera or Ring cameras, so your comment seems pretty fucking stupid and generic changing the subject to be about local storage for all security cameras.
Not so bad when you think about it …… Ring’s subscription isn’t too expensive and it gives you cloud storage and remote access. Bring on the hatred but I’ve found it one of the few worthwhile subscriptions
Stop putting bloody cameras bloody everywhere bloody hell!
Especially IoT ones controlled by massive corporations
Security researcher here. I’m assuming this to be some low cost chinese easily hacked thing.
Yup, it’s a rebranded Tuya device.
The product page says it offers cloud storage. Though you maybe can use it offline by recording to an SD card.
So it may not require a subscription, but it still requires an online service… which kind of misses the point that people make about these things being privacy nightmares.
It wasn’t the fee that people were worried about, it was the network video camera uploading to a cloud service which can be accessed by the secret police.
Do you have a recommendation for consumer-priced outdoor cameras/doorbells? Seems like a minefield.
I don’t have input on cameras specifically, but I have gone pretty deep into trying to understand how to maximise security and interoperability in smart home stuff, through open source control.
A starting point for the you-in-control app to use for smart devices is Home assistant. I was surprised by how easy it was to set up self hosted smart home stuff, largely because there’s loads of guides that build around home assistant. So whether a particular camera works with home assistant is a good starting search filter
Only cameras I recommend are not consumer priced :/ Axis. You do get full access, can run your own code and offline etc.
Reolink for the cameras and deny them internet access. You can tell them to record to internal SD Card and / or setup an NVR like Frigate. If you don’t want “roll your own” headaches and have the money for it then use gear from Ubiquiti and UniFi Protect.
Thanks, I’ll take a look.
So exactly the same, but a lot cheaper?
Can’t say anything about Ring unfortunately, haven’t analyzed them myself :/
Nah, they make them in the stockroom out of leftover shipping boxes and old VCRs.
£17.
how about i dont need a video doorbell and i can use my eyeballs and look out the window
Good luck doing that in my place.
i get it that tech is cool and stuff, but as ive gotten older, ive learned not to rely on it as much
Yeah, but you literally cannot see where the doorbell is at my place. It’s a physical impossibility. I live on the second floor of a two flat with an enclosed entryway. No window anywhere in the building can see who rang the doorbell. Glad that works for you.
i didn’t have a doorbell when i was still with my ex, and the only way i could see someone on the otherside was a spyhole. at my parents, i just look through the window
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Because I can check my door when I’m not even home and even talk to those at my door to pretend like there is someone home. Because it will record the porch pirate stealing off my porch. It’s for security and evidence, not so much an actual doorbell.
if i wanted security like that, id get a closed loop camera system, all stored locally.
Same. Which is the only reason I don’t use Ring. But I was interested in it until I went looking for a good option to buy. Absolutely no reason hardware in my possession should require a subscription to utilize.
why not make more money from you?
I always thought it would be cool to have a doorbell that, when pressed, would flash a red light on the person standing there and then a machine voice would say ‘Target Acquired’.
No subscription fee yet. Enshittification hits everything eventually.
It uses an SD card for data. But why read an article.
It says subscription-free, writes to AN SD card, and implies no cloud storage. It could very well be þat it requires no internet connection, in which case þe only limiter to using it in þe US would be power. Eiþer it’s battery powered, or doorbell line powered (like many smart doorbell devices in þe US). Doorbell lines in þe US are 12V (or 24V - I don’t remember which exactly), but if it’s battery powered I can’t see why you couldn’t use it in þe US - batteries are þe one truly universal international standard.
It’s probably too much to hope for zwave or someþing, but even if its WiFi, it looks as if þey’re positioning it to be cloud-service-free. Looks interesting.
It’s not cloud free and requires online activation with the Tuya app. (I assume based on other Tuya WiFi devices)
Well, þat sucks.
I mean being able to “answer from anywhere” definitely implies WiFi. Whether that is required for baseline operation, I dunno.
640x360. They claim it’s 480p. Maybe oy half-interlaces? Hah
